Fitted for Hard Times (1 of 3)

In the white collar world of professional businessmen, there has been a lot of popular press written on the subject of leadership. In the Bible, a lot is said about discipleship and service. How’s that for an illustration of the clash of cultures?

The subject of discipleship, of training and being trained in following Jesus, is so important we’ll devote the next three weeks to studying Jesus’ method of discipleship in Matthew 10. It is a rich vein of teaching, so we are going to sink a deep shaft into it.

To stimulate our thinking, it want to share a few insights into the subject of discipleship, representing varied viewpoints.

Nineteenth century Danish theologian Soren Kierkagaard wrote, "I went into church and sat on the velvet pew. I watched as the sun came shining through the stained glass windows. The minister dressed in a velvet robe opened the golden gilded Bible, marked it with a silk bookmark and said, "If any man will be my disciple, said Jesus, let him deny himself, take up his cross, sell what he has, give it to the poor, and follow me." Kierkagaard’s comment? “And no one laughed.”

American evangelist Dwight L. Moody said, “It is better to train ten people than to do the work of ten people. But it is harder.”

These three men all observed, in their different ways, the essential nature of discipleship in the Christian life. Real belief is manifest in spiritual growth, as haphazard as it may look from the outside. There is no choice in this matter; Jesus’ followers are disciples or they follow someone else.

CONTEXT: In Matthew 9, Jesus has called Matthew to be a disciple. He is the last one to be called to follow Jesus. Then, at the end of the chapter, Jesus looked compassionately on the crowd gathered before Him and urged His disciples to pray to the Lord of the Harvest for more workers in the field. These two chapters have a focus on Jesus’ disciples, His partners in ministry.

Jesus prepared His disciples for service and witness.

1. To be a disciple you must first be named as one of His people (vs. 2-4).

The Twelve are named four times in the New Testament. The four lists are here in Matthew 10, Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16; Acts 1:13; there is no listing in John.

This is the only time in Matthew and Mark they are called APOSTLES. The word itself has a specific meaning: “messenger, envoy, ambassador.” Hebrews 13:1 refers to Jesus as an APOSTLE.

When the word came into use as a title for a church officer, its meaning widened. At first, only the Twelve were called Apostles. Then Paul and five others were called APOSTLES. Then leaders over groups of churches got the title.

Regardless of one’s title, every believer is first called by God. We are saved because God decided to offer salvation to us. Here are some general observations about the original twelve Apostles.

- The Twelve were all laymen; there were no priests among them.

- They were not chosen because they gave Jesus any advantage.

- They were a mix of personalities w/ some opposites. (For example, the opposing political views of Matthew the tax collector versus Simon the Zealot, the opposite personalities of Peter and the “Sons of Thunder” versus “Doubting Thomas.”)

- They were called to follow Jesus, they didn’t volunteer. Some of Jesus’ followers did volunteer, but they are not called APOSTLES.

The Apostles were ordinary men whom God empowered to extra-ordinary things. They were so important to the plan of God that Revelation 21:14 tells us that the foundation stones of the heavenly city are inscribed with their names!

2. To be a disciple you must come under Jesus’ authority (v. 1)

JESUS CALLED HIS DISCIPLES TO HIM: Jesus, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, called each of these men individually. It was His decision that made them disciples; it was their decision to accept.

To be CALLED is to be invited by God to accept His will. Everyone is CALLED to be saved. In 2 Peter 2:9 we are told it is God’s will that no one should perish, that all should repent. This is a universal calling.

Those who accept God’s call to salvation receive an additional calling to do a specific kind of ministry in a specific time and place. In the modern Church we have mistakenly used the language of “calling” for professional church leaders. That is unbiblical. All disciples are CALLED to minister for Jesus.

HE…GAVE THEM AUTHORITY = On this occasion, Jesus delegated to the Twelve His AUTHORITY to do two things in particular. One: TO DRIVE OUT EVIL (“unclean”) SPIRITS. These spirits are in opposition to God. They do evil and tempt people to do evil. They were to be driven out because their evil is toxic to humans, separating their victims from God.

Two: TO HEAL EVERY DISEASE AND ILLNESS. As Jesus gave the Twelve AUTHORITY to do these two different things, it is plain that not every physical illness is a result of demonic activity. Matthew Henry’s comment is good: “The design of the gospel is to conquer the devil and cure the world.” Last week we saw Jesus doing both these things in Luke 4.

On other occasions (i.e., Matthew 19:28) Jesus’ delegated authority would take other forms. What’s important for us here is to note that His disciples do not exercise their own authority. Instead, they minister under His.

3. As a disciple you must do service and witness at the same time (vs. 5-8).

Jesus sent out the Twelve after giving them INSTRUCTIONS. This is a potent word, used in a variety of situations: the commands given by military leaders to their subordinates, the rules or principles given by a teacher to their students, and the word of a king or emperor as laws put upon the people.

This emphasis on service and witness means the object of ministry is not self or other believers, but others, and particularly the LOST. In this case Jesus’ command was to minister only to their fellow Jews: the Gentiles and Samaritans would be reached at another time. Jesus’ command to GO… TO THE LOST SHEEP OF ISRAEL fulfilled the Old Testament promises that a Messiah would be sent to Israel. This is an example to us that ministry is not about gratifying self, but is focused on meeting the needs of others.

Our ministry of witness is to PREACH…THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR. Repentance is the response for which we’re aiming as we witness, because repentance is necessary for salvation (Mark 6:12). THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN refers to the people of God, distinguished by true faith.

To say t KINGDOM is NEAR means two things. One, it is close enough to be recognized by those who have faith and the Spirit to see it. Two, that a decision is demanded: don’t procrastinate. The KINGDOM is NEAR in time; the opportunity to join it is now.

Our ministry of service is to relieve all kinds of distress. SICK…DEAD…

LEPROSY…DEMONS are a representative sample of all the kinds of ills human beings can suffer. Jesus gave His disciples AUTHORITY over them all! Following the example of the Apostles, we are to provide the material and spiritual service that results in healing other’s suffering. The Apostles returned later and testified that they had received power to accomplish these works of service.

Witness and service are to be given generously. As Jesus said, “FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE.” God gives to us with grace and generosity; it reveals a lot about the true state of our faith when we don’t show that same kind of grace and generosity to others. In this, the apostles were to follow God’s example and thereby set an example for us to follow. This instruction also helps us avoid the temptation to build our own ”empire” instead of building God’s Kingdom.

4. As a disciple you must depend on God, not yourself (vs. 9-11).

This requires you to not trust in your worldly resources. There is a personal reason Jesus gave this command: the Apostles were to trust God to provide for their material needs. To teach them this, Jesus instructed them to take no provisions for themselves: no money, no bag for carrying an extra tunic or sandals, nor even a staff. If they took it along, they were depending on their own resources, not on God. The phrase TAKE ALONG meant “procure.” It was about going out to get all the stuff a person might need for a life on the road.

Jesus had a theological reason for this teaching. If you and I do only the things we know we can do, then we get the glory. On the other hand, if we do the things that only God could do, He gets the glory.

Jesus had two practical reasons. First, if you know you’re going to depend on others for all your material needs, you have an obvious motive for ministry. If your next meal depends on you witnessing, you’ve got some urgency in your belly that doesn’t depend on “willpower.”

Second, this was a short-term “training” mission, not an extended trip. They were not going to the Gentiles or Samaritans. There was no need for the extensive preparations that a lengthier journey would require. Ministry was the priority.

Disciples trust God to equip them through the people He has prepared. Notice the principle behind Jesus’ instruction in vs. 9-11: worthiness. The worker is a worthy person. FOR THE WORKER IS WORTHY OF HIS KEEP. Those who sacrifice themselves to do the work of ministry deserve our support.

The worker is to search for a WORTHY PERSON to supply His needs and stick with them. The worthiness of this person would be spirituality first and material support second. Also, because the Apostles would be associating with that person throughout their stay, their worthiness would be measured by their reputation in the community: would association with them help or hinder their witness? Jesus told them to STAY AT HIS HOUSE UNTIL YOU LEAVE. It would be tempting to “trade up” to a nicer house or better food, but that would be ungrateful to someone who’d been generous and might have impaired the reputation of the Apostles.

5. As a disciple you must practice peace and judgment (vs. 11-15).

Begin new relationships with peace, but be prepared to render judgment. Remember that the home in this example belongs to a WORTHY PERSON, so it is reasonable to expect a peaceful greeting.

The first step, then, is to give the household a peaceful GREETING (12). In Jewish culture, that was “Peace to this house” or “Shalom.”

The second step was determined by the response of the household. If they responded to the greeting of PEACE with PEACE, then they were deserving of PEACE. In that case, the Apostles were to STAY AT THAT HOUSE until they left, and allow their PEACE to REST ON IT too.

On the other hand, if they responded to the greeting of PEACE by not welcoming them or not listening to them (v. 14), then the Apostles were to LET their PEACE RETURN to them and shake the dust of that house or town off their feet. In Jewish culture, shaking the dust off one’s feet or clothing was a nonverbal curse (Nehemiah 5:13; Acts 18:6). For example, it was their habit to shake the dust off before entering Gentile lands so as not to carry any of the soil of the Promised Land with them. Before leaving Gentile lands, they would shake the dust off to avoid bringing any of that unclean soil with them into the Promised Land. This was a curse that would come to pass ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT.

Realize that not everyone will accept your witness and service. These instructions make the most sense when we remember Jesus was preparing His disciples for the possibility of rejection and acceptance. He was sending them out of the safety of their group and the world was as likely to show them the back of its hand as offer a hand in fellowship.

His other purpose is to demonstrate this is serious business. To reject God’s ambassadors is a rejection of God; to reject God is to put one’s self under a curse that will come to full and deadly fruition on Judgment Day. As Jesus explained in verse 40, “HE WHO RECEIVES YOU RECEIVES ME, AND HE WHO RECEIVES ME RECEIVES THE ONE WHO SENT ME.”

Though we come peaceably to witness and serve, there is no guarantee we will be received peaceably. When people make up their own minds, their response is their responsibility, not ours.

Jesus prepared His disciples for service and witness.

We observed earlier the Twelve were called to follow Jesus, they did not volunteer. The difference between the two is instructive:

· Disciples surrender their rights in service to their master, but volunteers retain their rights and some are quite likely to bellyache at perceived violations of their rights.

· Discipleship is an act of complete self-sacrifice while volunteers offer only a portion of their resources, often what they can easily spare.

· Discipleship is a way of life while volunteerism is more like a hobby; something we enjoy but is not central to our survival or growth.

· Disciples live to serve while volunteers expect to be rewarded for their service.

While it is true that the church needs workers, God calls all of us to be disciples. The difference between the two makes all the difference. A person can be a volunteer in the church without being a disciple, but a disciple will always be a gracious volunteer.